Apparatus for removing, cleaning, and redistributing ballast



Sept. 19,- 1944. J. B. M WlLLlAMS' 2,358,657

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING, CLEANING Am) Ri -DISTRIBUTING B'ALLAST FiledJune 6. 1942 '7 Shegts-Sheet l P 1944. J. B. MCWILLIAMS 2,358,657

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING, CLEANING AND RBI-DISTRIBUTING BALLAST Filed June6 1942 V 7 sheets-Sheet 2 Pt- 1944. J. B. M WILLIAMS 2,358,657

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING, CLEANING AND REE-DISTRIBUTING BALLAST Filed June6, 1942 I 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR Se t. '19, 1944. J. a. MCWILLIAMSAPPARATUS FOR REMOVING, CLEANING AND RE-DISTRIBUTING BALLAST Filed June6, 1942 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Sept. 19, 1944. 2,358,657

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING, CLEANING ANDRE-DISTRIBUTING BALLAST J. .B'.,MGWILLIAMS Filed June 6, 1942 v Sheets-Sheet 5 v IQVENTOR yaw Sept. 19,1944; J. B. MW|LL|AM$ APPARATUS FOR REMOVING, CLEANING ANDIKE-DISTRIBUTING BALLAST Filed June 1942 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 T flJ fiHl H"1P HHHHJ 2 A may |i v... -..-s 9 w iiiii u A f A r w. w 1- rl J-Z'IMHHI HHJHF HIHH l-J I THHI lI-HHHH F Ii mi|||1|lli 1- Sept.

1944. J. B. MWILLIAMS 2,353,657

APPARATUS FOR REMOVING, (ILEANING: AND RE-DISTRIBI JTING BALLAST FiledJun 6, 1942 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVENTOR and its link "mechanism.

Patented Sept. 19, 1944 V UNITED STATES PATENT] APPARATUS :FoR'.REMovI'NG, CLEANING, AND, REDISTRIBUTING BALLAST James B; McWillianis,Pittsburgh, Pa... assignor to ;RailwayMain ten-ance Corporation,Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania. Application June 6,1942; SerialNo. 446.024

13 claims. ('01. 37-104) resting same with the operative mechanism inregister with eachintervening space between the ties, known as crib. l Iq The machine comprises a travelling support or truck provided with avertically disposed carriage frame providing a guiding mounting for a;

:rising and lowering carriage member, means loperatively mounted in saidcarriage member for L-laterally moving the static'ballast inwardlytowards the middle-of each single crib to receptive position andcondition for a clam shell bucket, :means, as such bucket,'for engaginga section of "such accumulated ballast and contained forleign matter,means for actuating the ballastmovfing means and said bucket, and meansfor raising and loweringthe carriage. Additional fea- :tures alsoinclude an automatically adjustable 'zchute for receiving the contentsand distribut- Efing same to'screening and distributing means, :meansfor bracing and adjusting the ties, power 'itransmitting connections tovarious operative ele- :ments, and various working parts and details,:as shall be more fully hereinafter described.

' Referringto the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side'elevation of'the machine in operative relation to thecrib spaces between the ities.

Fig. 2 is a plan View of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end view with the operating carriage member and its workingparts in elevated position with the clam shell bucket in opendischarging position. i

Fig. 4 is a similar partial detail view showing the chute in inwardreceiving position.

Fig. 5 is a transverse. section of the frame structure on the line V-Vof Fig. 9.

Fig. 6 is a partial'end view like Fig. 3 showing the working partslowered with the clam shell bucket closed.

Fig. '7 is a perspective view showing the bucket gaging andreleasinglatch.

Fig. 8 is a partial detail view "showing the tie bracing mechanism inlowered'position. Fi 9 is a detail view showing the holding andreleasing mechanism for the chute.

Fig. 10 is a transverse sectional view on the line X'X of Fig. 9. v 7

Fig. 11 is an isometric detail of the chute en- Fig. 12 is a detailsectional view on the line XII'XII of Fig. 9. t

Fig. 13 isa further detail viewillustrating 00- operating movement ofthe bucket in relation to the pushing shoe of the ballast moving arm.

The machine is designed to be pperatively mounted upon and to moveintermittently along the railsZ .of a railroad 'track', by motor driven7 power not necessarily'illustrated. but gearedwith the axles of wheels6, and having controlling means as levers-valves. etc; 7 The machine isde-' signed to be thus periodically propelled to locate the workingelements; properly with relation to the cribsj 3. betweenties l:Itcomprises a main base framing 5 having axle journal bearings andsuperimposed vertical framing members, as channels, along and in.parallelism with which the vertically moving, slidingframe or carriageis uided I in j assuming its alternating positions. The slide frame Bismade of suitable structural members, front and back, rigidly connectedas a unit,'and havingjfro'nt-and back cross plates 8a, functioning. to.cooperate wi fifi ncorporated working parts, as hereinafter "described.The slide frame is provided at'its lowrrear portion with socket eyes or.other devices "'9 for-connection with the terminals of continuous cable12. These pass upwardlyand ove'rsheaves l3 and M at the upper part ofthe structure, sheaves l4 being mounted in a carrier connected-withpiston rod I 5 of the piston of a horizontally disposed cylinder 16. Themiddle section of the cable engages a horizontally disposed sheave l1mounted as shown in an adjusting clevis lllhaving tightening orloosening-means, asa threadedbolt II.

The pistoniof' cylinder lfi is operated by any available fluidcontrolled by a suitable valve of well known construction, notnecessarily shown in the drawings. .By such means the slide frame orcarriage 8. is thusfadaptedto be actively raised, and lowered. by'gravity along its'framing 4l3, as will be understood, or by othersuitablemeans.

At the bottom of the slide frameare oppositely disposed angles l8adapted, when lowered, to rest firmly on the tops of adjacent ties, withample intervening space, i. e. full widthfof each crib."

The frame of the slide 8 provided'at its upper p be desired.

of cylinders 23, each cylinder being pivotally con-= nected with theupper extremity of each arm, as at 24.

The inner ends of the cylinders 'are'pivotally mounted the chute 41.

of plates Ba and the bucket closes, assisted by gravity. When piston 35is raised, as in Fig. 3, lifting arms 29, the action of levers isreversed, and the bucket is opened for discharge.

At each side, extending upwardly from the main longitudinal truck beams,are a pair of upright columns 43, of channel form, connected by a crossbeam 44 having downwardly extending brackets 45 between which, by crosspin 46, is pivotally Such chute is normally held outwardly beyond therising bucket and its load by means of a latch 48 pivoted at 49 betweenI hearings on cross beam 44 and having an interconnected with the top ofthesliding frame 8 at 25, for compensating moven'ient. Thegpis'ton ofeach cylinder is operated from any available source of fluid pressure(not shown) provided with suitable control valves of usual type.

Each arm 2| is provided at its lower extremity with an inwardlyprojecting extension 25, in-

sertible partly through the crib between the ties, with permissibleclearance,'underneath the rail, as in Fig. 6. Each such extension isprovided with aninclii'idflatface scooping shoe or ram 21, acting as apusherror the ballast towards the middle of the track.

The inclination of ram-2'lfacilitates action on V the packed ballastintne inanner of a plow share, tending to disturb and move it inwardly andupwardly.;and facilitating formation of a middle pileaccumulation,indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 3, for easy grasping by-the inwardly anddownwardly moving action of the terminal edges of th bucket.-

,While arms 2 I are shown asmade of structural steel shapes, welded orriveted, it will be under,- stood that they, may be readilyproduced asforgingsjor steel castings, of one integral piece.

. The constructionis-s uchas] to provide, in addition to the ballastdisturbance and movement, more effective and-efficient action'by thebucket sides, in enteringthe mass. Thus, by'properly locating the shoes21 with ap roximately close relation to the arc ;of movement ofthebucket edges inclosingtogether, as in Figs. 6 and 13, the approachingedges of the bucket will pass along closely over inside the shoes,acting as 'guides; and

more easily and freely into and underneath the mass. --In this'res'pect'the machine materially reduces the diiiiculty of enteringunderneathjthe assemblageof broken stone or the like Mounted onthewvertically movable housing frame-8, between front and bafck plates28, is a cylinder 3|, (seeFig. -7') having 'a piston '35 anda piston rod31 pivotally connected at 38 with connecting arms 29 engaging the'linkmechanism of .thebucket opening and closing means. These comprise a-pairof levers30, 30,'pivoted on cross pin fulcrum -32 betweenrplates '8a,and pivotally connected by links 33 with'the terminals of arms 29.

As shownin Fig. "7-, additional holes in levers 30 for the cross pin 32may bepro'vided, for varying the fulcrum bearing and-leveragestrokaas'may Such connection upper corners Levers 3B are 'pivotallyconnected bytheir innershorter ends with links 34 with the hinge pin 36of the; opposite halves or sections .3'9 ofthe clam'shell bucket 40.

position of Fig.9, by'an abutment 60 on flange is by cross pin 42extending through the sides of thefibucket halves at their chute areprovided with terminal rollers 53 adapted to be engaged by cams Ilocated slightly aboveflanges |8 of the upwardly moving frame 8 with itsloaded bucket. Such mechanism operates, first to tilt the chute furtheroutwardly by the cams I for free timed release of the latch, andimmediately thereafter to thrust the latch inwardly below the chutecrossbar 5i ,at the end'of upward movement of the slide frame.

Such operation is effected atthev termination of the upward travel offrame 8, locating the-chute underneath the loaded bucket, which is thenopened by upward movement of piston 35 of cylinder 3|, the arms 2|having been-withdrawn by action ofcylinders 23 and elevated with themain frame, as in Fig. 3. r

The release of latch 48 is simultaneously effected by upward movement oflever 54, pivotally mounted at 55 on beam 44, by lifting action ofcontrolling arm 56.- Said arm is pivoted to lever 54 at 51 and the leverengages a cross pin 58 of the latch by clearance slot 59., v

Arm 56 is adapted to be elevated by rising action of slide frameB,beginning just before its'ultimate lift, with final release of latch 48,

I8 and the slopingifaee 6| of cam 62supported from beam 44 by connection-44'. )7 a As shown, arm. 56 is provided: with a shoulder '63 above aterminal sloping face 64 of an extended prong, and engageable by risingabutment-150. *As the arm 56 rises to lift lever54,

cam -6| causes it to be moved outwardly beyond the abutment just beforetermination of upward movement of the frame 8. Upon -reverse movementdownwardly of the frame, the contents of the bucket having beendischarged into the :chute and therefrom to the I screen, the --arm 56havingbeenftemporarily held outwardly by the abutment--60 as indicatedat 65, will fall by gravity, lowering'lever 54 and latch 48 to normalposition. The arm 56 is provided with -a lever extension '66 andadjustable counterweight-Bl, to ensure resumption of normalpositioniupon lowering of main slide frame 8, ready for the nextoperation. v

.The cams 1 as shown, are provided with upper inclined faces 68 andlower oppositely inclined faces 6 9'. Withthe chute held outwardly forclearance of the rising bucket, as Fig. l, the'upwardly moving camsengage rollers-53 to slightly further elevat'e-the :chute forfree'release of 'latch'4B, permitting the chute to "fall to receptiveposition, as in Fig. 4. Upon reverse "downward movement'of the frame,cam faces -69 i engage the rollers from above, tipping the was chuteagain outwardly beyond the =zone-of the lowering open bucket, and"effecting its engagement by the latch. Thelatch' as-shown is ;pro-

vide'd with an inclinedcam face '10 engageable by the outer edge ofcross bar in rising, temporarily elevatingle'ver 54 and arm 56, and withprompt resumption of the latch to chute-retaining position.-

Withthe chute in lowered receiving position underneath the bucket, itsreleased contentspass to a downwardly inclined screen-1|, through whichforeign material as dirt, cinders, etc. pass to a conveyor-belt 12leading outwardly laterally to any; suitable discharge or convenientreceptacle. The screen is preferably agitated by a suitablecam or othermechanism, not shown, but actuated through a driving chain v1.3 or thelike, driven from a gear box 14 and a power shaft 15, from which a chainor other drive 16 actuates the conveyor belt 12. The screen is provided,with a suitable lower discharge chute 11 leading to the conveyor belt12.

Screened ballast passes over the screen to a terminal portion 18 fromwhich a pair of lateral trough conduits 19, registering with "eachsuccessive crib 3, as the machine is successively advanced andstationed, extend for distribution of cleaned ballast thereto, beyondthe rails. -A portion of such ballast may be finally shoveled back tofill the cribs, or if desired, the end of terminal portion 18 may bealso open for middle delivery between the rails, as indicated by thearrow, or adjustable endmost deflecting gates may be utilized for varyinflow distribution of the ballast, as will readily be understood by thedesigning engineer.

. For preventing displacing movement of a rear tie,. as by action of thebucket in entering the crib, or of the side arms and their rams, Iprovide the means shown in Fig. 8, comprising the opposite side seriesofelements generally indicated by the letter A, Fig. 3. These consist ofarms 89 pivoted at Bl to a depending bracket 82 of the carriage 5 havinga shoe 83 for location in the open crib, closely behind the tie adjacentthe crib to be emptied. An opposite arm 84 is similarly pivoted at 85 toa similar bracket and is pivotally connected .to'arm 89 byan'intervening link 86, such elements comprising a bracing togglecombination. These assemblages of bracing elements, in opposite sideduplication, are connected by bars 81.which in turn are connected bysuitable means and 'eye bolt 88 with depressin heads 89 slidably mountedon opposite beams 43. i

The slide frame 8 is connected at each side,

' as by transverse platesBb, with opposite vertical guide members asangles 92 each provided with a plate abutment 90. Abutments 99 areadapted, towards the last portion of the downward stroke, to engage anddepress the heads 89. The abutment carrying guides 92 are slidablymounted in vertical slots between the main columns 43 and spaced anglebars 93, as in Fig. 5. The plates 8b are connected with and actuate theabutments 90 by means of connecting bracket 94 and slide bar 92.

1 Upon lowering of slide frame 8 together with connections, 8b, bracket94, and slide bars 92, abutments 99 engage and depress heads'89, extending springs, 9! against their normal lifting action. Such movement,by bars 81, thrusts shoes 83 into resisting relation to the tie and eachend portion thereof, firmly opposing its disturbance. Thus, duringdownward movement of the slide and prior to inward movement of the ramsbetween the ties, and the following 7 grasping action .of the bucket,the shoes are lowered to rear positioning, closely behind the tie forbracing resistance. Upon upward move ment of the slide, until resistedby stopabutrl ments 99, the leversc are being withdrawn by the springs9| to dotted line position foriclear-i ance, preparatory to thenextforward movement of the machine, both'operations. being. entirelyautomatic. vThe carmay then bemoved forwardly to the next -adjacentcrib,- and the opera-.

tionrepeated, The action of the rams is .also effective to straightenties which are not-at right angles to the .rails, orotherwiseiabnormally. located, so that ties shall .not be forced-beyondthe standard spacing. .1 V For the purpose of removing undistributedballast from the tops of ties as the machine proceeds, a scraper may belocated transversely below the truck, preferably retractible, as bysuitable hinge and shoulder abutment bracing mechanism 96, 91, forerection and-collapse, as inFig. l. The advancing end of the :machineisprovided with an o-perators-pulpit 98 in which are mounted operatinglevers 99., I00, for control of the various valves etc. of themovement'actuating elements, cylinders, etc. for timed. operationthereof, in the proper order. These elements and their particularconstruction, timed functions, or the like, arenot disclosed, but willbe understood as existing and operating as according to recognized andapproved practices 1 I i The construction and operation'of the machinewill be readily understocdand appreciated from the foregoingdescription. v

It is designed for comparatively rapidy'practicable-and efficientoperation according to th following cycle of operation. l i

The machine having been brought to an initial position alo'ngthe track,it is located and arrested with the slide and its bucket and armsinraised position, inregister with the first crib to be acted upon, afew of those'beyond it rearwardly having already been excavated. Theslide frame is then lowered to operative position withithe'fianges l8resting on the ties at each side of the crib to be'emptied. Duringsuchlowering faces 69 of cams 1 engage rollers 53 and thrust the chute'41outwardly for automatic engagement by latch 48, providing clearance fordownward movement of the slide frame. Intermediate ofsuch descent theheads 89- are' depressed, lowering the toggle assemblage A, andlocatingtheresisting shoes closelyadjac'ent to the tie in;-rear. of the crib tobe emptied. By such; interfering resistance the tie is prevented fromany material movement due to lateral pressure tending to disturb it byactive entrance and pressure of the digging arms 2| and bucket 40,

,Thereupon, by action of the piston'rods 22, both arms are enteredlaterally between the ties and underneath the rail or rails as. in Fig.6. In so entering, they provide an anchoring hold with the rails againstupward movement of the slide frame for any reason,.as by action'of thebucket in closing, and ensuring positive static conditions during suchoperations. The scoops 21, by reason of their inclination, engagethe'ball'ast in such a manner as to push it inwardly and upwardlytowards the middle in an accumulating pile. ,At the same time, duringtheirprogress toward extreme inward positions as in Figs. 6 and 13, theentering edges and rounded faces of the scoop ing shoes closelyapproximate by their contour, the adjacent faces of shoes 21, andgreatlyfacilitate closing'and loading of the bucket.

'Upon termination of the inward travel of arms 21-, the piston 35 ofcylinder 3|; and arms 29 are lowered; with upward movement of links 34',closing the'grab bucket upon the contained ballast, as in Fig. 6pThereupon the arms 2| are retracted, as is also piston of cylinder t6,effecting lifting tension by cable 12, the ends of which, connected withopposite lower portions: of the slide frame as at 9, elevate the slideframe and bucket for discharge into chute 41, as in Fig. 3; Just beforetermination of such upward movement cams I cause? the outwardlyheldlchutef to tip slightly further outwardly for easyrelease of latch4'8, followed immediately by such release,

causing the chute to fall by; gravity; then to be tipped slightlyinwardly by passage of cams 1; beyond the. rollers 53; finally beinglocated in receiving position, and soheld by flanges 1-8.; attermination of their upward travel, .underfthe loaded bucket. i i l 'Thepiston 35 of cylinder; 31. is thenraised, opening the bucket whichdischarges into the chute, effecting flow movement over the screen andelimination of screenings, and'deposit'oft'he cleaned, ballast into theemptied rear crib or cribs, asdescribed; V

The liftingw frame-and its parts'may remaintin such upper positionpendingsuch final disposition'of the material beingcactedi upon; themachine is then moved one tie spacing for'registration. withthe'nextoccupied crib; and the operation is repeated successively along the:trackway; The machine as a whole is strong; compact, self-contained,comparatively simple, and highly efiicient in operation, and greatlyreduces the time and expense of. removing; cleaning. and replacingballast in its intended use.- It may be changed or varied in design,detail construction, or: otherwise, by: the skilled mechanic or builder,within. the scope of the following claims. I I claim: 1;. Thecombinationof a swpportingrtruck and laterally spaced apart columnsthereon, of-"a vertically movable slide frame; vertical guide-meansbetween. the slide frame a and the columns, means for lowering. the.slide frame -as controlled by saidguiding means, uponadjacent' ties andfor elevating yit thereabove, a tie bracing shoe depending from thetruck, and lowering" and raising means therefor operable by the slideframe:

2; The combination 'o'fa supporting truckand laterally spacedapartcolumns thereomof averti-cally movable slide frame; verticalguidingmeans between the slide frame andflthe columns,

means-for lowering the slide frame as" controlled byisaid guidingmea'ns,upon adjacent ties and for elevating it thereabove' atiebracing" shoeand pivotally connected toggle joint mechanism therefor depending fromthe truck, and lowering and raising means therefor operably connectedwith the slide frame. v

-3. In combination with the vertically: moving slide frame of acribbing" machi'neas described. having a grab bucket, a pair of"opp'ositely arranged pivotally mounted pusher arms, actuating means forthrusting the terminalsof said arms inwardly-between the ties for middleaccumula bucket foropening and closing; terminaLl'i-nclined' plow plateson the arms adapted to be thrust inwardly to close guiding relationtothe, erect movement of the bucket lips in closing.

5. In combination with the vertically moving slide frame provided withthe pivotallyconnected double side bucket, the opposite pair oflaterally swinging side arms, and means for actuating the bucket foropening. and closing; terminal inwardly disposed ballast-moving portionsadapted to, be thrustinwardly between adjacent ti es and below the railsthereon adapted to engage the rails and provide anchoring resistance toundesired. upward movement of the-slide frame duringclosing of thebucket.

6. In a cribbing machine as described, the combination withthesulpporting truck and its frame- I a bracing shoe, a link pivotallyconnecting said arms providing for toggle joint erection or collapse, athrusting and lifting arm, *a vertically moving head, a normallyoperative retracting spring ,connected therewith, and an elementoperable by downward movement of the slide frame adapted to engage saidhead to effect lowering of the bracing shoe behind a tie.

,8; In a cribbing machine as described, the combination with thesupporting truck and its framework and the vertically movable slideframe, means for preventing movement of a tie or for correctingdisplacement thereof consisting of a pair of arms oppositely pivotedtobearings suspended from the truck, one of said arms having a bracing;shoe, a linkrpivotally connecting said arms providing for toggle jointerection or col-- lapse, a' thrusting and lifting arm, a verticallymoving head, a normally operative retracting spring connected therewith,and an element and a depressing mefnben: and a; lowering abute mentoperatively connected: with th'eslide frame adapted to engage saidmember.

10; In a railway cribbing machine as described provided with a tracksupported truck" having a vertically movable slide frame, springretracted means depending from each side of the truck each provided witha tie engaging bralcing' shoe and a; depressing member, and a pair oflower-v ingabutments operativelyconnec'ted with the slideframe adaptedto engage said members to lower the bracing; shoes between adjacentties. 11. In a railway cribbing machine as described provided witha'track supported truck having a vertically movable slide frame, togglejoint means depending from each side of the'tmck provided with tieengaging bracing shoes, retracting means therefor for elevating saidmeans to inoperative position, slidably mounted depressing membersconnected with said toggle joint means, and lowering abutmentsoperatively connected with the slide frame adapted to engage saiddepressing members to lower the toggle joint means and locate thebracing shoes between adjacent ties.

12. In a railway cribbing machine as described provided with a tracksupported truck having oppositely located columns, a vertically movableslide frame having ballast engaging elements, spring retracted meansdepending from each side of the truck provided with tie bracing shoes,depressing members for said means slidably mounted on said columns, andlowering abutments operatively connected with the slide frame adapted toengage said depressing members for lowering thereof during upwardtension on said spring retracted means.

13. In a railway cribbing machine as described provided with a tracksupported truck having oppositely located columns provided with slottedvating springs.

JAMES B. MCWILLIAMS.

